Developing a Tailored Psychosocial Education Intervention for Chronic Pain Management for Asian Americans

Health inequalities in chronic pain exists in the US, with a greater burden of chronic pain and higher rate of misdiagnosis and undertreatment reported in minoritized groups compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Asian Americans (AA) are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the US, yet despite the rapid growth in their numbers, AA remain under-represented in pain disparity research. Cultural norms of Asians may discourage reporting their pain to avoid burdening others or being seen as weak. Rather than seeking medical assistance, Asians have been reported to tend to accept the pain as natural or to suffer to maintain their independence. Very few evidence-based programs are available that can be implemented for this linguistically/socially isolated population in the US. This proposed study aims to fill critical knowledge gaps in pain disparity research by providing evidence of feasibility and acceptability of a culturally-tailored psychosocial pain education intervention for an underrepresented population using the KA community as an exemplar.

Chronic pain is a major population health issue affecting more than 100 million Americans and disparities in chronic pain have been widely documented, indicating minoritized racial and ethnic groups experience a higher burden of chronic pain and are at high risk for undertreatment of that pain. Asian Americans remain underrepresented in pain research; evidence regarding chronic pain experiences of Asian Americans is limited, as are resources and evidence-based programs for this group. This exploratory, developmental study will provide evidence of feasibility and acceptability of a culturally tailored psychosocial education intervention to reduce pain catastrophizing and improve pain outcomes for underrepresented and underserved minority populations.